In July 1995, The Center for Voting and Democracy
asked its members to write letters thanking Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney for her bold
proposal to amend the 1967 law requiring single-member districts in order to allow states
to use PR in multi-member districts for U.S. House elections.

Members were encouraged to explain briefly why they like proportional representation. Following
is a representative collection of the many excellent letters we received.

Alabama

Gwendolyn Patton: "It continues the legacy of our voting rights
struggle which was never for blacks only in our democratic goal to establish a government
‘of, by and for’ all of the people."

Ed Still: "It allows the people to choose their own
representatives -- rather than the representatives choosing who gets to vote for
them."

Arizona

Carolyn Campbell: "I like PR because: 1.) I am a fan of true
democracy. 2.) Smaller parties / minority voices need to be heard, and larger parties
need to re-examine their philosophy and take stands."

Bruce Gungle: "Thank you for offering a pro-active and common
sense solution to the ills that plague the U.S. electoral system."

California

Raymond R. Ackerman: "Voter apathy stems from feeling
unrepresented and that real change can't happen. With two parties fighting to be most
centrist, all other are locked out. With PR, voters will see the possibility of
change."

Steve Chessin: "The preference voting form of PR reduces negative
campaigning. In a hotly-contested election, candidates will need the second, third, etc.
choices of people who list an opponent as first choice to win. This means they can't
alienate their opponents' supporters if they expect to win."

Lillian Laskin: "It will encourage more people to become active
voters and believe in the politicians because a range of views could be represented."

Eric Lund: "It would eliminate gerrymandering, whether done for
partisan or other purposes. Who will represent a district's voters is already decided
before an election when there is gerrymandering."

Bruce Mast: "PR allows everyone to participate in the political
process, not just those with enough money and clout to sway ‘mainstream’
voters."

Wilma Rule: "It is the fairest system for the representation of
minority and non-minority women. Presently the U.S. Congress is 89% male and a
wholly unrepresentative body. Countries with PR have a fairer representation of
women."

Diana Sottile: "It will encourage greater voter turn-out and in
the long run a government closer to a real democracy; for the people, meaning all
people."

Rein Taagepera: "It makes representation possible for those
minorities that want to be represented."

Colorado

Eric Fried: "It's fairer! People have more choice when they can
vote for a third party without ‘throwing their vote away,’ and millions want
that choice. I know: I ran for Congress in California on a third party line and got 9% --
and with PR, thousands more would have supported me."

Connecticut

Eric Lorenzini: "It allows all members of society to be fairly
represented. A winner-take-all system, like we have now, will never produce a Congress
that is truly representative -- politically, racially or otherwise -- of Americans. With
the recent Supreme Court decision on redistricting, PR is more needed than ever to ensure
fair representation."

Florida

Nat S. Lerner: "It offers all voters equal representation and a
real stake in making democracy succeed and is an essential step in building a sane society
where all are respected."

Illinois

Walter Apelsen: "Some of the gerrymandering that is now going on
is producing districts of ridiculous shape and size. We should now be ready to adopt
proportional representation as the most simple and direct means of assuring that many
viewpoints on government will be recognized."

Jeff Martin Knutson: "It would decrease the power of
corporate-funded lobbyists. The voice of all groups would be heard."

Kevin O'Malley: "It can increase participation, not just in
election, but in politics in general. It will increase the integrity of the political
discourse. It is a real solution to past electoral discrimination."

Maine

John F. Lally: "Third party candidates and their supporters would
have a voice in Congress and other legislatures."

Maryland

Scott Becker: "The winner-take-all system guarantees that at least
some and possibly 49% of the people go unrepresented. PR forces the legislature to be much
more representative of the people."

Alison D. Oldham: "I'm convinced that PR (in any one of its
several possible forms) is a far more elegant and politically acceptable way of
guaranteeing fair representation for minorities of all kinds (whether racial, ethnic,
ideological, religious or whatever). In addition, it will help to reinvigorate
participation in the political process."

Massachusetts

Ron Beland: "1.) PR decreases the dominance of moneyed interests
in our elections; 2.) It also gives a voice to committed minority interests who otherwise
feel alienated, and thereby encourages more citizen participation in government."

John Bonifaz: "It helps fulfill this nation's promise of democracy
so that all voters have real choices and real opportunities for their voices to be
heard."

Fairman C. Cowan: "It is a method of voting which most effectively
reflects the wishes of the voters."

New Hampshire

New Jersey

Marion Steininger: "It will make more groups believe there is a
point in voting, and it will increase the probability that ‘outsiders’ will run
and win."

New York

Philip and Marrion Goldstein: "Our congressional district is a
swing district, usually won by a narrow margin. That leaves almost half the voters of the
district unrepresented."

Margaret Gregory: "I like PR because it more adequately represents
the needs and hopes of the people of our country. Not everyone is in support of the two
parties that always get elected, and I feel wider representation would make for a more
honest government and a more flexible government."

Andrew Lang: "It is party-blind, color-blind, gender-blind; in
short, it is just. Without it, ‘minorities’ of all kinds are
‘excluded’ twice over."

Gerald Meyer: "PR will allow for political representation of
parties which the present system excludes. Also, it will encourage voter participation
among the majority of the American people who presently feel they have no reason to
vote."

Reginald Neale: "It can help change the dynamics of electoral
politics to concentrate on the issues as opposed to trivialities and mudslinging."

Huntington Terrell: "PR makes it much more likely that most voters
will have representatives who represent their most important interests. Many more people
will vote, fat cats will have much less influence and our laws and public policies will
meet the needs of many more people, and will promote the common good. We will be much more
closer to having a government of, by and for the people."

Terry Woodnorth: "I would be represented in government by a person
and a party that holds the same views as I do. It would be someone I could hold
accountable on specific positions."

North Carolina

Becky
Manning: "It is a step towards getting the responsibility
for government into the control of its citizens and its true public
servants and outof the hand of the self-serving politicians."

Lee Mortimer: "PR allows the greatest number of people the best
opportunity to elect a representative that best represents their views. Single-member
districts are inherently unrepresentative because they exclude so many people from
representation."

Kenneth Pulliam: "It can give every potential voter the hope that
they can have some representation in the government."

David Richie: "PR encourages voters to vote for candidates whose
beliefs and values are like their own -- 20% of the vote should be enough for a candidate
to win in a 5-member district."

Ann Sink: "PR would enable like-minded constituencies spread out
over a broad region to band together to elect a representative."

Ohio

Bill Collins: "Because PR systems allow candidates to win who
otherwise could never win 51% in a single-member district, new candidates will come
forward. This new blood will invigorate politics, and attract voters who today see no
reason to turn out on election day. I wish I could vote for you."

Marian Spencer: "It is the fairest method known under which people
may vote. It unifies, rather than divides the electorate and it ensures a diverse
leadership representative of all the people who vote. It encourages voting -- the one
thing which makes a democracy work."

Dan Zavon: "The single transferable vote -- the purest form of PR
-- is the equivalent of multiple run-off elections. Run-off elections are designed to
insure that the election results are a reflection -- not a distortion -- of the true
intent of the electorate."

Oklahoma

Jeff Birdsong: "This system gives almost everyone representation.
It is representation based on issues and beliefs, not arcane geographic
representation."

Pennsylvania

Peggy Orner: "With PR we would end up with a Congress more
representative of all the people."

Kathy Paulmier: "It makes sense to me that our complex society
needs a system that is more than winner-take-all. We need to include rather
than exclude people's needs and opinions."

Tennessee

Robert J. Hayes: "It will allow the voices of more people to be
heard and deepen the democratic value of elections as reflecting the feelings of the
people. It will help defuse potentially violent confrontations in our society by allowing
proper channels for people to be heard rather than taking to the streets."

Virginia

Tim Arnette: "It brings more power back to the people."

Janet Seay: "It is a civilized and democratic solution to the
evils of a winner-take-all system -- the greatest of which is that it promotes demagoguery
and thwarts genuine democracy."

Vermont

Bill Tomczak: "The current system encourages an ignorant populace
that can be easily manipulated by the best controller of their image."

Washington

Roger Baker: "It could help prevent ‘Groupthink:’
uniformity of opinion, illusion of invulnerability and other group properties that lead to
high-risk ventures, by introducing diversity and criticism into legislative bodies. Also,
it offers amplified creativity when people aim for win-win solutions and thus more
creative, inclusive solutions."

Jake Carton: "Campaigns ought to be issue-driven by pluralists and
not money-driven to capture the middle 5% of the voting electorate. We are becoming a
monolithic tyranny of the middle-swing vote."

Curt Firestone: "PR is democracy!"

Michael Harvey: "PR will encourage the formation of alternative
parties that will be able to take controversial stances on issues and give voters a bona
fide chance in casting their vote."

Meta E. Heller: "It allows shades of opinion on issues to be
expressed by candidates -- and voters. It would bring the U.S. in line with other major
democracies of the world. Redistricting must be reformed before the next census."

Becky Liebman: "PR provides apathetic non-voters with a chance to
vote for candidates that really stand for something, that really speak to them wherever
they may be in this richly diverse country of ours."

Melvin
E. Mackey: "We are not a true democracy. We are a
representativedemocracy. Or are we? Using PR election systems will
result in greater representation for
the average voter. We can become a representative democracy in name and
in
reality."

Mike Parkis: "It has a chance to end the exclusion of black
Americans from full participation in the American political process."

Howard Pellett: "It will make everyone a participant because they
will know that their vote will count."

David Richardson: "It provides all with representation in
proportion to the extent their views are shared by the entire electorate, not just the
majority of the electorate. In this way, it encourages voter turnout, because each voter
has a chance to influence the outcome."

Herrman Ross: "It allows constituencies, be they majorities or
minorities, be they based on party, race, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic
background, geography, or any combination thereof, to win their fair share of seats,
creating legislative bodies that are mirror images of the electorate."

Wisconsin

Kathleen Hart: "There should be some representation for all people
in a district -- not just the one portion that could turn out the most votes."

West Virginia

Jan Rezek: "PR would allow for an election system that allows more
ideas to be represented as well as more groups of people. It is time for our government to
consider an elections alternative that better represents all the people."

In Detroit, there have been three mayors in the past two years and the current one has come under scrutiny. Perhaps a system like instant runoff voting will help bring political stability to motor city.